Conjure Women

I sometimes get physical advanced reader copies from Subtext Books and if it is a book that I would recommend I write a few sentences for them to help promote the book for sales. I really enjoy having the opportunity to read physical copies of newer books and writing more for the goal of selling a book.

I do hold the bias in the following review that I am not only loved reading Conjure Women but I am also trying to help one of my local independent bookstores boost their sales of this book.

This is the story of Rue and May Belle who are former slaves who live on an old plantation around the Civil War. The components of witchcraft and midwifery really drew me into this story.  There is racial violence toward the end of the book so readers who are sensitive to this kind of violence may need to beware but I personally found this to be a very powerful story.  It reads like a folktale with a lyrical writing style. Fans of The Red Tent will appreciate the female comradery around childbirth and child rearing, Fans of Toni Morrison will appreciate a new author that writes historical fiction from an African American perspective with beautiful writing.I highly recommend this book!